Mayor Bill de Blasio’s claim that there is “nothing to see here” in the federal investigation is being undermined by a drip-drip of evidence. His vow to remain silent lasted just 24 hours and was shattered when his top investigator, Mark Peters, was forced to step aside because Peters had served as treasurer in the mayor’s 2013 campaign.

Even liberal allies ridiculed Peters’ attempt to stay on, especially after a 2014 comment surfaced. Asked by the City Council then if he could imagine a circumstance where he would recuse himself, Peters said in part, “I am very confident the mayor would not engage in unethical conduct.”

That hardly inspires trust, so Peters bowed out of the investigations, and it’s hard to see how he survives in the job at all.

Especially when de Blasio’s 2013 campaign, and the slush funds that took nearly $40 million in donations from many people with business before the city, are a focus of the US attorney. At issue is whether donors got improper government benefits in exchange.

In that context, fresh attention must be paid to the fishy sale of a city-owned building, Rivington House, that netted private investors a $72 million profit. The Wall Street Journal reports that the city appraised the building at $64 million before selling it for just $16 million. Another company bought it for $28 million, then, after intense lobbying, City Hall lifted a deed restriction, allowing investors to sell the property again, this time for $116 million.

Each step smells to high heaven, with de Blasio donors benefiting at the city’s expense. If that’s not a crime, it should be.

Meanwhile, the number of cops implicated in taking “gifts” or bribes jumped to nine.

The chief suspect, Shaya Lichtenstein, from Rockland County, is charged with bribery and conspiracy, and a source tells The Post he was spotted in the NYPD’s License Division almost daily since 2014. He was busted when a cop who was offered $6,000 reported him and wore a wire for a subsequent meeting.

That counts as good news, an honest cop blowing the whistle on an inside job. The unidentified officer deserves a medal, and giving one would help Commissioner Bill Bratton set the tone for the bumpy days ahead.

Bratton told The Post the scandal already is the worst to hit the department since the Knapp Commission, which was formed by Mayor John Lindsay in 1970 after repeated reports of graft. Public hearings that featured the testimony of NYPD whistleblowers Frank Serpico and David Durk schooled New Yorkers on different levels of corruption.

“Grass eaters” were described as cops who almost passively accepted small bribes, while “meat eaters” were those who aggressively sought big payoffs. The combination painted the department as rife with wrongdoing.

The NYPD has come a long way since then, and in the last two decades distinguished itself as the finest police force in the United States. The reduction of serious crime by more than 80 percent is a man-made miracle, one that brought deserved respect — and undeserved criticism.

The danger now is that the scandal will exacerbate the “Ferguson effect” that is demoralizing cops across America. That means Bratton and the public share the same challenge: To come down hard on officers who shame the badge, but to remember that the vast, vast majority of cops are honest public servants who risk their lives to protect ours. The good cops must be celebrated so all 37,000 sworn members don’t get tainted by the bad ones.

As for City Hall and the political class, no such presumptions are warranted. They are all guilty until proven innocent.

O puts lie in Israel alliance

My apologies to the word “frenemy.” Never again will I scoff at its hipper-than-thou attitude, because “frenemy” perfectly describes President Obama’s double-agent approach to Israel.

On one hand, he claims to be Israel’s best friend, and sometimes is. On the other hand, the White House also gives aid and comfort to Israel’s enemies, making it impossible to say which side it really favors.

Speaking to a far-left Jewish group, Biden cited settlements to charge that Netanyahu is “moving Israel in the wrong direction.”

The speech would be misguided but less remarkable if it had come before the Jerusalem blast. But Biden launched his assault hours after the terrorists launched theirs.

This is not how a true friend acts in an emergency, and comes shockingly close to blaming the victims. Indeed, also on Monday, Israel revealed a huge Hamas tunnel under the border with Gaza. Reinforced with concrete and electrified, the tunnel was the first one found since many were demolished during the 2014 war. Once again, ordinary Gazans live in ramshackle hovels while building materials, purchased with international aid, are diverted to the terrorists’ war against Israel.

Here is a truism Biden should repeat each day: If Palestinians laid down their weapons, there would be no more war. If Israelis laid down their weapons, there would be no more Jews.

Recall that Silver counsel Michael Boxley was accused of rape by a legislative aide, but Silver kept him on the job until he pleaded guilty to a lesser crime two years later. The state paid the woman $500,000 in a civil settlement, thanks largely to Silver’s defense of Boxley.

Silver also tried to hide harassment complaints by three women against Brooklyn Assemblyman Vito Lopez, agreeing to one settlement of $103,000 with public money. Then two more women sued Lopez and Silver for covering up their complaints, leading to another payout of $545,000.

If Silver’s affairs had been known, his protection of Boxley and Lopez might have sunk him years ago. Instead, taxpayers really got screwed.

Hill in Bush league

Headline: “Laura Bush hints she’d rather see Hillary as president.”

Of course she would. Dynasties have to stick together lest, like dinosaurs, they all get wiped out.